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So back to the coverage issue that I am so fond of today. The manufacturers and third party portals like Edmunds and KBB are paying all the money for the top of the funnel search terms, which can lead to very uncompetitive prices for dealerships that are trying to compete.
The real question is: if someone types in “Toyota” on a Google search, is that person the best prospect for your dealership? I think I would much rather have someone who types in “Toyota Camry lease specials,” versus losing the majority of my budget on top of the funnel keywords. Go back to your Google account and see which keywords all your money is being spent on to drive traffic to your website. I will almost guarantee that the majority of your budget is gobbled up by the Google machine for generic branding terms like “Toyota” that will drive top of the funnel traffic to your site. But you will have a much harder time converting this traffic since the people doing online searches with these generic terms are in the information gathering stage of shopping—not the actual purchase stage.
To me, I want buyers or people who have the highest probability of buying, and the sooner the better. I just wanted to share some information with everyone. Your comments are always greatly appreciated.

This post started out with the same old song and dance... then you got really specific with the "hows" and "whys"!! Thank you, this was a GREAT help. My favorite point you made was that, today our dealership success is not based on our geography or commitment to the big media spend. Its about the individuals doing their thing. Ive never heard it put quite like you did and its refreshing for an individual to hear.
From a managers perspective it is important to give our employees access to tools. From an individuals perspective we can make it happen no matter where we are... as long as we have access to the tools.
One question though, you said you were going to give us a list of sites we have to get involved with... am I missing something? please post, this is good stuff!

I love how you laid out specific instructions for even the newest person to using the Internet can follow- even down to the time management! Thank you! I've printed this and handed it out to our 20 sales reps!